Fusions
"First, you need a gem at the core of your being. Then you need a body that can turn into light. Then you need a partner who you trust with that light" ''- Garnet, "we need to talk" '''Fusion Gems' are the product of two or more Gems or half gems, who can fuse with both gems and humans. Fusions are formed when the participants are emotionally harmonious with each other. This state can be spontaneous but it is usually achieved deliberately through a synchronized "gem dance". Fusions Garnet Opal Sugilite Sardonyx Alexandrite Smoky Quartz Stevonnie Rainbow Quartz Malachite Ruby Fusion Unknown Quartz Fusion * Opal's is called "Amalgam", which is the combination of two elements to form another. * Sugilite's is called "Synchronize/Sugilite", which is to act as one, or in unison. * Malachite's is called "Collusion", which is when two parties conspire together. * Garnet's is called "Reunion", which is the act of coming together again after a period of separation. * Rainbow Quartz's is called "What Can I Do", which is like asking what she could do to improve the loving bond between the two. * Sardonyx's is called "Enticement", which is to attract someone or lure them in. * Alexandrite's is called "Collaboration", which is an act of working together with others to form or create something. * Smoky Quartz's is called "Consolation", which is the act of giving comfort to another who has suffered, wherein the two (Steven and Amethyst) find comfort with each other's similar flaws. * Stevonnie's is called "Alone Together" which is the experience of being physically together but emotionally feeling alone. This might stem from the when the Connie side of Stevonnie became anxious at the rave and said it would be alright if Steven were actually there rather than as part of a fusion. Description When Gems fuse, their bodies and minds become one. This creates an entirely different entity, as opposed to two minds sharing a single body. Some dominant features in Gems can occur in their fusions, such as Pearl's nose shape. Malachite, Garnet, and Alexandrite, showed that one component Gem can take control of the fusion. It is also possible for different Gems to take control of different parts of the fusion, as proven by Lapis Lazuli's control of Malachite's hydrokinesis while Jasper was in control of the body. For Malachite and Alexandrite, the Gem in control's voice was layered over the fusion's voice to show control. However, for Garnet, this was not done; it was only the fusion's voice, although it is unknown whether this is intentional. As seen with Sugilite and Malachite, certain fusions will cause the loss of individuality between their constituent Gems if fused for long periods of time. While all fusions require consent, a fusion of hatred is inherently unstable. Fusions retain all standard Gem abilities, such as fusing even more, shapeshifting, and bubbling. Memories made before and during a fusion can be held over, as Opal, Sapphire, and Sardonyx recognized Steven despite him never meeting them personally. However, Gems who fuse together don't automatically share their memories with each other. For example, the second time that Garnet and Pearl fused into Sardonyx in "Cry for Help", she did not know that Pearl had secretly repaired the tower. Formation In order to fuse, Gems must to be in perfect sync mentally, physically and emotionally. Fusions are formed when Gems perform a synchronized dance. Each fusion's dance is different. If successful, Gems transform into an amorphous mass of energy before fully transforming. During the process of fusion, the gemstones of the participating Gems are visible. However, Sardonyx was the first fusion Gem not to show Gemstones during fusion. If unsuccessful, Gems will be ejected before finishing the entire transformation. An example of a stable fusion (and de-fusion) was shown in "We Need to Talk", when Rose and Pearl fused into Rainbow Quartz. Garnet gives Greg a more literal explanation that Gems turn into light and have to be trusting of the other Gem(s) with their light. During Fusion, each gemstone from the fusing Gems are visible and seen shifting into place while the mass forms into a body. However, in "Cry for Help", when Pearl connected with Garnet, both Gems and gemstones disappeared before the mass of energy appears. Even when Sardonyx is fusing, the gemstones are not visible until Sardonyx fully fuses. Fusion order does not matter for multi-Gem fusions. The same Gems will produce the same fusion regardless of which order they combine in. For example, if Opal fused with Garnet, or if Pearl fused with Sugilite, or if Amethyst fused with Sardonyx, each resulting fusion would still result in the formation of Alexandrite. Each fusion embodies a relationship between the participants. While some fusions like Garnet embody romantic relationships, fusion is not inherently romantic, and other fusions can embody other sorts of relationships such as the social relationships between friends, allies or even enemies. Appearance Fusion Gems combine the designs of both/all Gems unless they are the same type of Gem, then they'll just be a bigger version of their Gem design, as shown in "The Answer". Gemstones appear in the same locations and are the same cut of the Gems are composed of, but the type of Gem changes. The exception would be Stevonnie, whose single Gem remained as Steven's. Should two Gems with gemstones in the same location fuse, the gemstones would be side by side on the resulting fusion. Each Gem involved in the fusion often contributes an additional pair of arms, showing that multiple pairs of arms are a common trait among fusions. Another common trait among fusions is having more than two eyes. Many fusions so far have had as many eyes as all of their constituent Gems put together. Opal, Stevonnie, some of the Cluster Gems, Sardonyx, Smoky Quartz, and the Ruby fusion have had fewer. Alexandrite's eyes have yet to be seen, since they were covered by a visor during her appearance. Abilities The abilities of Gem fusions vary based on the two Gems who fuse. Whenever a Gem fuses to make a weapon, they combine their own original weapons to create a new one composed of those two or more weapons. If a Gem possesses significant other abilities, such as Sapphire's future vision, that may also be incorporated into the fusion's abilities. Weapons Fusions may wield the weapons of the Gems that compose them, but can combine them into a singular weapon. These weapons typically harness the abilities of the weapons that were fused, an example being Opal's weapon, a recurved bow. Pearl's spear not only makes up the recurved bow, but the arrows are visually similar to the energy blast the spear can emit, and the spear itself. Meanwhile, Amethyst's whip acts as the bowstring. Sugilite's flail uses Garnet's gauntlets as a mace head and Amethyst's whip as a rope. Sardonyx's war hammer is composed of Pearl's spear as the handle and Garnet's gauntlets as the head. Smoky Quartz's weapon combines Steven's shield and Amethyst's whip, forming a yo-yo. De-fusion De-fusion is a process in which a fusion splits into its component Gems. During the de-fusion process, fusion Gems will reverse the fusion process. The fusion will turn back into a mass of light before splitting back into its original participating fusees. During the de-fusion, the Gemstones of the participating Gems are visible at all times. However, in "Cry for Help", Sardonyx was the first fusion not to have Gemstones during de-fusion. Stable A stable de-fusion occurs when the participating fusees have a mutual agreement on de-fusing. This is shown in "We Need to Talk" when Pearl and Rose Quartz de-fuse from Rainbow Quartz, they smoothly shift out of each other. Another example of a stable de-fusion is in "Cry for Help" when Sardonyx de-fuses into a flash of light, leaving Garnet and Pearl holding each other. As well as that, in Hit the Diamond, while The Crystal Gems are figuring a plan out to send away the Rubies, Garnet says: "I have a plan, or should I say, WE have a plan." After that Ruby and Sapphire slowly fuse out of each other, holding hands. Unstable An unstable de-fusion occurs when the fusees have a very high conflict of opinion. This is shown by the fusees being thrown out of the fusion. The first example of this is shown in the episode "Giant Woman" when Pearl and Amethyst argue over the Heaven Beetle, causing the fusion to become un-synchronized and forcing them to de-fuse. This is also shown when Alexandrite argues over a bit of shrimp, causing de-synchronization and de-fusion. Similar incidents nearly occurred with Malachite as she was being pulled to the bottom of the sea and Garnet when she was facing a Cluster Gem. Another unstable de-fusion through conflict was shown in "Keystone Motel". When Garnet's component Gems are arguing over Pearl's betrayal of their trust, Ruby ends the fusion by speaking through Garnet, saying "Then you can just go." This ends the fusion and ejects the fused Gems. In "Mindful Education," Garnet explains that if at least one of the fusees is emotionally unstable at the time of the fusion, it can cause the fusion to become "unbalanced" and lose touch with reality, hallucinate, and ultimately defuse. This was demonstrated when Stevonnie began hallucinating during a training session with Pearl, and it explained previous instances of Stevonnie hallucinating in "Alone Together" and "Beach City Drift". Damaged A damaged de-fusion occurs when the fusion takes on severe physical damage, as shown in "Coach Steven". When Sugilite is injured by her flail, she 'poofs', back to Garnet and Amethyst. During a damaged de-fusion, the original Gems do not retreat into their gemstones to regenerate, however the damage caused to the fusion will be carried on to the component gems as Garnet and Amethyst were unable to move and had 'a monster head-ache' unless they are dealt in contact with a great amount of physical damage, or a Gem Destabilizer, the fusing gems will retreat into their gemstones to compensate for the damage to the fusion. An example of this is when Jasper stabs Garnet with a Gem Destabilizer, causing Garnet's body to fall apart. She poofs back into her original Gems, Ruby and Sapphire. However, unlike Sugilite, the damage caused to Garnet's body also caused severe damage to both Ruby and Sapphire, forcing them into their gemstones to regenerate. It is unknown how the Gem Destabilizer is capable of doing this, or how it is engineered. Same Gem Fusions Whereas different Gems fusing creates a new Gem with a new personality, homogem (same gem) fusions simply create a larger version of the Gems that are fusing. Because of the lack of individuality of mind and physical construct, there are no new personalities. Because all the fusing Gems are naturally synchronized, each Gem feels as themselves but they are actually all together as one. If two Gems are of the same type but are not''identical, they would still form a larger version of themselves in build, but with a combined color palette and outfit. Due to the natural synchronisation resulting from their similar personalities, Gems of the same gemstone do not need to form a complex dance as shown in "The Answer" where the three Rubies quickly fused after simply forming a pyramid, whereas two different Gems usually must perform a fusion dance to synchronize and fuse. Artificial Fusions Through being buried underground and fusing due to extensive pressure, it is possible to force Gemstones or Gem Shards into fusing. This method of fusion is usually incomplete and often against their will, simply binding fragmented Gemstones together on the edges instead of changing their colors, as shown in complete fusion. The Cluster Gems are a result of an artificial fusion, and in "Keeping it Together", it was shown that Gem Shards could be forced to fuse. The physical bodies of these Gems usually embody the incomplete fusions, with limbs being stuck together at seemingly random places. More examples of artificial fusion were later shown in "Nightmare Hospital" and "Gem Drill". Gems in this category are so shattered they are utterly unaware of themselves nor at what is happening around them; only seeking out other Gems and finding their missing pieces. Corrupted Fusions Uncorrupted Gems can fuse with Corrupted Gems without the consent of the corrupted Gem, and it appears to involve forcing the corrupted Gem to move in some way while they are in physical contact. However, the corrupted gem can escape the fusion if it fights back hard enough. The process of fusing damages the uncorrupted Gem's gemstone, eventually fully corrupting it. This was first shown in "Earthlings" when Jasper fused with one of the Corrupted Gems - she became corrupted as well. Realms The hostile Malachite fusion has an internal fusion realm where Lapis Lazuli and Jasper struggle for control. It is not known whether this is a general property of fusions, an unusual property of Jasper and Lapis Lazuli's hostile fusion, or Steven's perspective on Malachite as viewed in his dream. Another instance of a similar concept is when Garnet seems to converse separately as Ruby and Sapphire before or after starting to de-fuse in "Keeping it Together" and "Keystone Motel", giving light to their opposing opinions. In "Mindful Education", Garnet and Stevonnie, using a meditative technique, are able to enter the same fusion realm. The two fusions witness their fusees confront their negative feelings. Culture * Fusions are frequently pictured, especially as statues, throughout the abandoned Gem monuments in the show, (e.g. The Lunar Sea Spire). * The Crystal Temple has the appearance of a typical fusion. The gemstone placements suggest that the temple is a fusion of Rose, Amethyst, Garnet (Ruby and Sapphire), and Pearl. * In "Jail Break", Jasper describes fusion as a "cheap tactic to make weak Gems stronger", while Garnet states that she fuses out of love. * In "We Need to Talk", Pearl says fusion is the ultimate form of bond between Gems. Garnet has also stated in "Keeping it Together" that fusion is considered sacred and to her, it is a choice. * On the Gem Homeworld, fusions are primarily used only in battles and as weapons. Being fused outside of a fight is seen as disgraceful, as Peridot is constantly uncomfortable around Garnet, calling her a ''perma-fusion and a filthy war machine. * The Homeworld stigma surrounding fusion when not used for a specific purpose (such as fighting) could be because in a sense it is changing the fusee's form to something outside of their 'purpose', which according to Jasper is defiance to the Diamonds. * According to "Guide to the Crystal Gems", when Ruby and Sapphire first fused with each other, it was unusual for Gems of different types to fuse with each other. This is because Gems only fused with other Gems of the same type (rubies with other rubies and so on).